Eve Torres
Eve Torres Gracie (born Eve Marie Torres; August 21, 1984) is an American dancer, model, and actress, and former professional wrestler. She is best known for her work with WWE as Eve Torres or simply Eve. Torres began her career as a model and dancer. She danced for The Southern California Summer Pro League and went on to become a member of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers Spirit Dance Team for the 2006–2007 season. She has also appeared on several television shows, including Show Me The Money, Sunset Tan, and Deal or No Deal. In 2007 she entered the 2007 Diva Search and won, earning a contract with WWE. Torres first appeared on WWE programming as a backstage interviewer in 2008, and also appeared in non-wrestling contests such as bikini contests and dance competitions. She later became a full-time wrestler in 2009, and was involved in feuds with Michelle McCool, Layla and Natalya. She also managed the tag team of Cryme Tyme. After being traded to the Raw brand in late 2009, she managed Chris Masters before winning the WWE Divas Championship in April 2010. She held the championship for 69 days, before losing it in June. After acting as the valet for R-Truth in late 2010, Torres won the Divas Championship for the second time at the 2011 Royal Rumble in January. Her second reign lasted until April 2011. The following year, she was given the fictional role of "Executive Administrator" of Raw and WWE SmackDown, and later the Assistant General Manager of SmackDown. At Night of Champions, Torres won the WWE Divas Championship, becoming the first person to win it on three occasions, and held the title until January 2013. That same month she left WWE to focus on her role as an instructor for the Gracie Women Empowered Self-defense program. In 2014, she landed a recurring guest role as Reyna Flores on the El Rey television series, Matador. Professional Wrestling Career World Wrestling Entertainment WWE Diva Search (2007) In May 2007, Torres entered World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Diva Search. She was chosen by WWE officials as one of the eight finalists from a group of 50. On October 29, 2007, in Philadelphia, live on Raw, she was crowned the 2007 WWE Diva Search winner, defeating finalist Brooke Gilbertsen and becoming an official WWE Diva. Following her win, she began training for her wrestling debut in WWE's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. SmackDown (2008–2009) Videos promoting Eve's debut on SmackDown began airing on January 11, 2008. The promo aired for three weeks before Eve made her official debut on the February 1, 2008 episode of SmackDown interviewing former World Heavyweight Champion Batista. During early 2008, Eve participated in a "Diva Competition" contest to determine the top Diva on SmackDown, participating in a bikini contest, an obstacle course, and an arm wrestling competition before being eliminated. Eve appeared at WrestleMania XXIV as a Lumberjill in the BunnyMania match between Maria and Ashley against Beth Phoenix and Melina. Eve spent the rest of the year competing in similar contests, including a dance-off and a bikini contest, before participating in the Halloween Costume Contest on October 26 at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, where she was dressed as Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On the 800th episode of Raw on November 3, 2008, Eve made her televised in-ring debut in a 16-Diva tag team match, which her team lost although she was never tagged in. Her first main storyline began in early 2009, when she began a scripted feud with the heel-turned Michelle McCool. On the February 6 episode of SmackDown, Eve made her singles match debut in a losing effort against McCool via submission. Their feud continued for the next few months, with them competing against each other in singles and tag team matches. Eve then moved into a feud with the evil Layla in mid-2009. After the pair competed in dance and arm wrestling competitions, Eve defeated Layla on the May 29 episode of SmackDown in a wrestling match. On the June 18 episode of Superstars, Eve pinned Layla once again. After the match, they both shook hands. Around the same as her scripted rivalry with Layla, Eve became associated with Cryme Tyme (Shad and JTG), appearing in several backstage segments with them. She also began accompanying them to the ring as their manager during their storyline rivalry with The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd, and Natalya). Eve and Cryme Tyme participated in multiple six-person mixed tag team matches against The Hart Dynasty, and Eve also faced Natalya in singles matches and tag team matches involving other Divas. Her final match on SmackDown was on October 9, when she was defeated in a singles match by Michelle McCool. Raw and Divas Champion (2009–2012) On October 12, 2009, Eve was traded to the Raw brand. On the November 2 episode of Raw, she competed in her first match after being traded: a battle royal which was won by Alicia Fox. She then entered into a storyline romance with Chris Masters in December 2009, becoming his valet. In January 2010, the WWE Divas Championship was vacated and a tournament was set up to determine the new champion. Eve made it to the semi-finals, before being defeated by the eventual winner, Maryse. At WrestleMania XXVI Eve was on the losing team in a 10-Diva tag team match, but the following night on Raw, she pinned Maryse in a rematch to earn the victory for her team. On the April 5 episode of Raw, Eve won a "Dress to Impress" battle royal to become the number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship, and the following week on Raw, she defeated Maryse to win the championship for the first time. She successfully defended the championship against Maryse at the Over the Limit pay-per-view in May. At the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view in June, Eve lost the championship in a fatal four-way match, when Alicia Fox pinned Maryse to win the championship. On the July 5 episode of Raw, Eve invoked her rematch clause against Fox but was unsuccessful after Fox feigned an ankle injury. As a result, she received another rematch at the Money in the Bank pay per-view, but lost again to Fox. In mid-2010 she began acting as the valet for R-Truth. At the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2011, the Raw General Manager added Eve to a two-on-one handicap match for the Divas Championship, turning it into a fatal four-way match. Eve pinned Layla to win the match and become a two-time Divas Champion. She retained the championship against Natalya in a Lumberjill match on the February 14 episode of Raw, and against Nikki Bella on the March 7 episode. She held the championship until the April 11 episode of Raw, when she lost it to Brie Bella. Eve then formed an alliance with Kelly Kelly, and after Kelly won the Divas Championship in June, Eve accompanied her to the ring during her matches. Eve and Kelly began feuding with The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya), and after Phoenix won the Divas Championship from Kelly, Eve defeated Natalya to earn a match against Phoenix. She faced Phoenix at the Vengeance pay-per-view, but was unsuccessful. On the October 31 episode of Raw, Eve won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the Divas Championship. She received her championship match at the Survivor Series pay-per-view, but lost a Lumberjill match to Phoenix. Eve moved into a storyline with Zack Ryder in December 2011, and the pair won a mixed tag team match against Natalya and Tyson Kidd on the December 26 episode of Raw. On the January 9, 2012 episode of Raw, Eve agreed to a date with Ryder beginning a storyline relationship. Following her participation in an eight-diva tag team match at the Royal Rumble—in which she Kelly Kelly, Alicia Fox, and Tamina were defeated by Phoenix, Natalya, and The Bella Twins in an 8 Diva Tag Team match. Kane began targeting Ryder (established as a friend of John Cena, with whom Kane had been feuding), injuring him before turning his attention on Eve, first trying to attack her after an unsuccessful championship match before Cena came out to save her. On the February 6 edition of Raw, Eve suffered a broken nose during another eight Diva tag team match. On the February 13 episode of Raw, Cena saved Eve from being kidnapped by Kane. Afterwards, Eve kissed Cena and it was revealed that Ryder witnessed it. Later that night she told Ryder she hoped they could be friends. Villainess and Authority Figures (2012) On the February 20 episode of Raw, Eve turned villainous after confessing backstage to the Bellas that she had never liked Zack Ryder and had disingenuously used him for publicity and planned to take advantage of Cena the same way. Cena overheard her revelation and scorned Eve for her wrongdoing, refusing her apology as she begged for forgiveness. Eve justified her actions saying that people should not expect to see her as a "damsel in distress" anymore and that she is proud of who she is – a woman whose beauty served to seduce men, thus allowing for a better quality of life. After she was confronted by Kelly Kelly backstage, Eve laughed evilly at her former friend and walked off without saying a word to her. She wrestled her first match as a villainess on the March 2 edition of Smackdown, defeating Natalya. Ryder returned on the March 5 edition of Raw, confronting Eve on her recent actions, but she managed to seduce him. On the March 22 episode of SmackDown!, Eve teamed with Beth Phoenix in winning effort defeating Natalya and Tamina Snuka. At WrestleMania XXVIII, Eve and Beth Phoenix were defeated by Kelly Kelly and Extra correspondent Maria Menounos in a tag team match. Later that night, she accompanied Ryder to the ring for the Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy matchup where she distracted Ryder, costing him and Team Teddy the match. On the April 23 edition of Raw, the evil Eve was appointed as Executive Administrator of Raw and SmackDown by Raw and SmackDown General Manager John Laurinaitis. As her first order of business as Executive Administrator, on the April 30 episode of Raw, Eve fired the Bella Twins backstage. Eve made her television return on the July 2 episode of Raw, in a backstage segment with AJ. Eve made her return to in-ring competition on the July 9 episode of Raw, where she competed in a main event mixed tag team match with Daniel Bryan in a losing effort to CM Punk and AJ after Bryan refused to tag in the match. Eve then competed at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in a six-Diva tag team match along with Beth Phoenix and Natalya in a losing effort to the team of the Divas Champion Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka. The following night on Raw, Eve and The Miz faced AJ and Bryan in a mixed tag team match but lost. On the August 6 episode of Raw, Eve was defeated by her returning former friend Kelly Kelly. On the August 10 episode of SmackDown, Eve asked SmackDown General Manager Booker T to work as his assistant, but Kaitlyn was instead given the job. Eve would threaten Booker with telling the Board of Directors about discriminatory hiring practices and she was then booked in a match against Kaitlyn the next SmackDown to decide who got the job; Eve defeated Kaitlyn to become the SmackDown Assistant General Manager to Booker T. 3rd Divas Championship Reign (2012-2013) On the August 24 episode of SmackDown, Eve began diminishing her evil characteristics and congratulated both Divas Champion Layla and the number one contender, Kaitlyn, as well as trying to impress Booker T and show up Senior Advisor Teddy Long. On the August 31 episode of SmackDown, Eve, still taking on her "face personality," was on commentary for a match between Natayla and Kaitlyn, with Torres most of the time talking about her job as Assistant General Manager and her pride in the Divas Division. On the September 3 episode of Raw, Eve defeated Kaitlyn with Layla and The Miz on commentary, after the match, Eve would shake hands with Kaitlyn and Layla before leaving the area. The next week on the September 10 episode of Raw, Eve teamed with Layla and Kaitlyn in a six-Diva tag team match where they defeated Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Alicia Fox, and would afterwards hug both Layla and Kaitlyn and raise their arms in victory. At the Night of Champions pay-per-view, Kaitlyn was attacked by a masked figure injuring Kaitlyn's ankle, and forfeiting her title shot with Layla to Eve, who went on to defeat Layla and become the first Diva in history to hold the title on three occasions. On the September 17 episode of Raw, Eve defeated Beth Phoenix in a non-title match with Layla on commentary. On the following week, Eve teamed up with Beth Phoenix to defeat Layla and Alicia Fox. After the match, Eve attacked Phoenix after an injured Kaitlyn appeared on stage telling that the person who attacked her was a blonde. On the September 27 episode of WWE Superstars, Eve was defeated by Layla in non-title match, thus earning a title opportunity. The following evening on SmackDown, the villainous Eve suspended Phoenix, pending investigation of Kaitlyn's attack. Later that night, SmackDown General Manager Booker T reversed Beth Phoenix's suspension and Eve then blamed Teddy Long for telling her to suspend Phoenix. On the October 8 episode of Raw, Eve defeated Kaitlyn via submission to retain the Divas Championship. After the match, Eve turned heel again by attempting to re-injure Kaitlyn, only for Layla to appear and save Kaitlyn. On the October 15 episode of Raw, Eve defeated Layla to retain the championship again. At the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, Eve retained the Divas Championship against Layla and Kaitlyn in a Triple Threat Match. On the November 5 episode of Raw, Eve teamed up with Aksana in a losing effort to Kaitlyn and Layla after being pinned by Kaitlyn. The following week on the November 12 episode of Raw, Eve was on commentary observing a #1 Contender's Match with Kaitlyn defeating Layla in singles competition to face Eve at the Survivor Series pay-per-view for the Divas Championship. On the November 16 episode of SmackDown, Eve competed in a six-Diva tag team match along with Aksana and Alicia Fox in a losing effort against Kaitlyn, Layla, and Natalya with Kaitlyn pinning Fox. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Eve defeated Kaitlyn to retain her Divas Championship. After indulging an elbow injury at a live Raw house show, Eve returned on the December 10 episode of Raw defeating Alicia Fox in singles competition. At the TLC pay-per-view, Eve was on commentary until she interfered in a #1 Contender's "Santa's Little Helpers" Diva battle royal causing Kaitlyn to lose, and Naomi to win, and would afterwards defeat her to retain the title. On the December 17 episode of Raw, Kaitlyn would get her revenge on Eve by defeating her in a non-title match. The next night on the December 18 live episode of Super SmackDown, Eve would successfully retain her title against Kaitlyn via disqualification after Eve tripped the referee. On the December 24, special Christmas Eve episode of Raw, Torres teamed with Aksana, Rosa Mendes, and Tamina Snuka in a losing effort to Kaitlyn, Layla, Natalya, and Alicia Fox. On the December 31, special "New Years Eve" episode of Raw, Torres chose to defend her Divas Championship against Hall of Famer Mae Young, but would attempt to force the referee to forfeit the match, until Kaitlyn attacked Torres. Eve ended 2012 having wrestled the most TV/PPV matches of that year out of all the female wrestlers with 33. Departure; Guest Appearances (2013, 2018, 2019) On the January 7, 2013 episode of Raw, Eve once again defended her Divas Championship against Kaitlyn in a winning effort via count-out after she walked out on the match. On the January 14 "20th Anniversary" of Raw, Eve lost her Divas Championship to Kaitlyn, and would quit the WWE immediately after her loss. Eve would ask for her release from WWE a month earlier from Vince McMahon to be with her then-fiance Rener Gracie, and to focus on her role as an instructor for the Gracie Women Empowered Self-defense program. On December 9, 2013, Eve returned on the Slammy Awards edition of Raw to present the Slammy for Diva of the Year, which went to The Bella Twins. Eve turned heel in an exclusive backstage segment, when she upstaged the Bellas and boasted about her glamorous attire. On October 28, 2018, Eve appeared at WWE's Evolution event as a guest panelist on the pre-show. Eve returned to WWE TV again at the Raw Reunion on July 22, 2019, appearing in a backstage segment with Eric Bischoff Other media In August 2008, Torres, along with fellow WWE Divas Maria and Candice Michelle, appeared on an episode of Sunset Tan. On October 2, 2008, Torres and Maria appeared on a special episode of Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed. Torres, along with Maryse and Michelle McCool, appeared in the January 2009 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine. Torres appeared on the November 3, 2009 episode of Deal or No Deal with Maria and Dolph Ziggler. In 2012, Eve participated in a small series of videos for COMBOS snacks, competing against CM Punk in two challenges. Eve was defeated by Punk in the Haba-Sabi Challenge, which was a contest where the participants could find ouf who could handle spicy foods the longest. In the Culinary Cage Match, Eve (banana and peanut butter) and Punk (hummus and pretzel) each created their own COMBOS snacks as part of a competitive taste test. During this second contest, however, Eve turned heel when she berated a female taste tester who criticized her sample all the while tossing a chair and forcing her to taste another sample. After turning villainous, the evil Eve ended up winning the competition, and she laughed evilly to celebrate her victory.